Just don't drink the Bass...
Years ago, an old girlfriend took a summer job pulling pints behind the bar of a local boozer. Naturally, combining the presence of my then-good-lady with beer meant I felt a strong compulsion to go and visit her while she was working.

The pub served two ales, as I recall. I think one was Adnams, the other was definitely Bass. After a rather unsatisfying pint of the former, I thought I'd give the latter a try. It was vile - it didn't taste like Bass...it barely tasted like beer at all.

"Bloody hell, this is terrible!" I exclaimed, "How long's this barrel been on?"
"I don't know," she replied, "do you want me to get you another Adnams instead?"

She took the duff pint and poured it into a bucket.
"Why not pour it down the sink?" I asked, as she poured me a 'fresh' pint, which I suspected would be disappointing, but at least drinkable.
"Oh, he tells us to pour all the spillage into that bucket. Everything from the drip trays except Guinness and cider, they go down the sink."
"I see...and what happens to the contents of this bucket?"
"I don't know, I've seen him take it down to the cellar after we've closed up..."
"You know what, love, I might just have a Guinness instead..."
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 12:31, 21 replies)

The spillage bucket is just a easy way for the landlord to estimate waste, so he/she can factor the 'loss' into stock and accounting
I'm really suprised the number of people on here who seem to think it has some dubious other use.
( The magic of chutney Shakes it like an Instagram filter!, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 12:55, closed)

I
believe that in some intitutions it's weighed and taken off the VAT bill.
(dchurch bah, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 13:18, closed)

I was sitting, rather drunkenly, at a bar chatting with the landlord about wastage once, and how they clean the taps every week by running a certain amount of booze through each one - I worked it out that cleaning the taps cost him in the region of £8-10k a year.

He almost cried.
( Hunter Stockton was murdered by a bicycle wielding axolotl,.,.,.,., Fri 8 Jul 2011, 14:17, closed)

I meantioned something similar in a previous post.
Most pubs nowadays don't seem to bother cleaning through with beer -- so you end up with the taste of cleaning fluid in the pipes for a while after they clean them. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who, once I've tasted something, can pick up a trace ammount of it -- so I can't usually enjoy a pint nowadays.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 17:57, closed)

I'd be inclined to agree with this
If it weren't for the specific instruction of "everything into the bucket except Guinness and cider."
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 13:34, closed)

Back in the day...
the slops used to go into the Mild.
(Roladex, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 13:11, closed)

I long believed that Mild was nothing but slops.
Maybe it is. Precious few pubs serve it, anyhow.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 13:30, closed)

A good pint of Mild is a thing of beauty
Though perhaps I treasure it all the more for its rarity these days.
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 13:35, closed)

I have been in only one pub
with a pump marked Mild.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 14:18, closed)

My local has mild.
And most of the real ale beard pubs in town have a mild on most of the time.

Mmmmm. Mild.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 14:50, closed)

I've come to know several pubs in London which keep a mild on most of the year round
Though this did require a fairly extensive amount of "research." And the stuff has made a bit of a (rather demure) comeback since Rudgate and Hobson's won awards for their milds at the Great British Beer Festival.

NB It won't always be explicitly labelled as "mild."
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 15:17, closed)

Absolutely believable
I worked in pubs for a good couple of years. Our deputy manager was delighted when we got Bass from a real 'hand-pull', so that he could filter the waste beer back in.

I used to tell the regulars whether it was a fresh barrel, or if they'd be better off with 'Bass Blue'.

Shame, because when it was on song, it was a great pint, especially with Brannigans beef and mustard crisps.
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 13:49, closed)

I do enjoy a good pint of Bass
Sadly, as with the mild subthread above, a good pint of Bass is increasingly hard to come by.
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 15:18, closed)

Best crisps ever
Totally ruined by walkers since though
( rofl harris, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 16:06, closed)

A good pint of Bass
Is always available at the Tynemouth Lodge in North Shields. It's £2.80 for a pint at the minute. I can't get out much due to the arrival of a new child, but when the in-laws took me there to let wife and child continue their sleeping, I was very briefly back in pre-parenthood heaven. The guest ales there are always good as well. Parenthood heaven is also very good, I should add, in case wife or child are reading.
(cheesehead, Sat 9 Jul 2011, 0:12, closed)

Also Available
In the Millstone in Gosforth, at about £2,60 IIRC. The've moved the pump into the back bar though, that near caused a riot as people thought it'd gone from the pub after at least 35 years there...
(Rounded Rycroft Thought of something witty but posted this instead, Sat 9 Jul 2011, 22:34, closed)

I actually went on a cellarman's course with Bass
Did you know the Bass red triangle was the first ever registered trade mark?

Fact.
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Wed 13 Jul 2011, 11:42, closed)

Oh believe me this used to be very, very common...
As an ex cellar man, we used to (in all 10 or so pubs I worked in around central London) put all lager and bitter back in the barrels (2 buckets, one for bitter, one lager).

You'd filter both- larger was never a problem- degas the barrel using a grundy head with no pipes. But if bitter (real ale) was cloudy after a couple of filters, then chuck in a pint of tonic water.

The breweries knew exactly what was going on (they supplied the filter paper!)- this was with Bass and Scottish and Newcastle.
(Mr. Ploppy, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 15:22, closed)

Oh, and when it was really too rank to put back in....
You'd chuck it into a Guinness barrel- get it near full of rancid off beer- chuck in a bottle of black food colouring and bingo, you've a dead Guinness barrel- dray would pick it up, one credit note, job done.
(Mr. Ploppy, Fri 8 Jul 2011, 15:25, closed)

Yeah
and lemonade works too.

Never ceased to amaze me when people said "Mmmm, nice pint that." when I'd served them a cloudy, rancid pint of recycled barley juice.
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Wed 13 Jul 2011, 11:46, closed)

This story
Makes me want to have sex with the whole cast.

Not just the join.



O noh she di' nt
(Nigella Pussycat picking baked-in hair from creme brulee, Sat 9 Jul 2011, 10:02, closed)